Images

Classifications

B41K1/00—Portable hand-operated devices without means for supporting or locating the articles to be stamped, i.e. hand stamps; Inking devices or other accessories therefor

B41K1/02—Portable hand-operated devices without means for supporting or locating the articles to be stamped, i.e. hand stamps; Inking devices or other accessories therefor with one or more flat stamping surfaces having fixed images

B41K1/04—Portable hand-operated devices without means for supporting or locating the articles to be stamped, i.e. hand stamps; Inking devices or other accessories therefor with one or more flat stamping surfaces having fixed images with multiple stamping surfaces; with stamping surfaces replaceable as a whole

A—HUMAN NECESSITIES

A23—FOODS OR FOODSTUFFS; THEIR TREATMENT, NOT COVERED BY OTHER CLASSES

United States Patent Office 3,446,143 Patented May 27, 1969 US. Cl. 101-201 1 Claim ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE The disclosure relates to a decorating stamp for impressing single or multiple disparate color decorative designs upon the irregular soft surface of food products. In order to produce the different colors, the stamp is made up of movable sections, with registry means holding them in assembly, each section having a rigid backing element and a printing pad section formed of porous foam material attached to the backing element and providing voids capable of absorbing sufficient liquid color for multiple impressions. In order to apply the colors to the printing pad sections, the sections are shiftable individually to different planes relative to one another for pressing the sections into contact with different color applicators, making it possible for the pads to absorb two or more colors. After applying the liquid color, the sections are shifted to a common printing plane and held in assembly by the registry means.

This invention relates generally to decorating stamps and particularly to a stamp which is utilized in applying a decoration or a design in edible food coloring to the iced surface of cookies, cakes and other food products.

One of the primary objectives of the invention has been to provide a decorating stamp of this nature having a soft, yieldable printing pad which is capable of transferring a liquid food color to the relatively fragile surface of an iced cookie, cake or other food product, and which conforms readily to an irregular surface, so as to impress the complete decoration without indenting the relatively soft surface upon which the decoration is impressed.

According to this aspect of the invention, the decorating stamp essentially comprises a backing member formed of a rigid material, with a printing pad formed of soft, pliable foam rubber shaped to the outline configuration of the decorative design. The printing pad may include relief or cut-out areas in its printing surface complementing or embellishing the decorative effect. The texture of the foam rubber has the further advantage of producing an attractive half-tone or stippled effect in color upon the iced surface.

A further objective of the invention has been to provide a decorating stamp of this character in which the printing pad is capable of absorbing a relatively large quantity of the edible vegetable coloring liquid in relation to its mass, thereby to make it possible to print or decorate a succession of articles upon each application of the coloring liquid to the stamp.

In order to carry out this objective, the printing pad, which is formed of foam rubber or an equivalent material, has a high degree of porosity and has a substantial thickness to provide the required mass. The foam rubber printing pad may be of one or several layers adhesively secured together. The stamp pad is thus capable of absorbing a sufiicient quantity of coloring liquid to permit the application of the decorative design to the desired number of articles with a single application of the coloring liquid.

The coloring liquid may be applied to the printing pad transfer pad, also of foam rubber, which is impregnated with the coloring liquid. The printing pad is colored by being placed with its printing face in surface contact with the transfer pad for a period suflicient to absorb the liquid by capillarity. The thickness of the printing pad, which imparts its absorption capacity, also contributes to its yieldability in conforming its printing surface to the irregular surface contour of the article being imprinted.

A further objective of the invention has been to provide a decorating stamp of sectional construction which is adapted to absorb disparate contrasting colors, makmg by the use of a color 1t possible to impress multiple color designs upon the succession of food products in a rapid convenient manner.

According to this concept, the multiple color decorating stamp is fabricated in individual sections which are separable from one another, each section being capable of absorbing a disparate color. The sectional stamp includes means for holding the stamp sections in registry with one another, such that the stamp sections form a composite unit capable of impressing the multiple colors upon a succession of articles.

In one embodiment, selected to illustrate this concept, the stamp is of two-piece construction, the separate sections being associated with a base plate which confines the stamp sections normally in a retracted position, with their printing faces disposed in a common plane. Each stamp section is held in accurate registry with its companion section by a pair of pins or screws passing slida'bly through the base plate and spring biased in a direction to confine the stamp sections normally in the common printing plane.

In order to apply the separate liquid coloring, one

of the stamp sections is depressed below the common plane and pressed into contact with the color transfer pad, While the other stamp section remains in its elevated position. After the first section is thus colored and returned to the elevated position, the second stamp section is depressed and colored in the same manner. With both sections colored and residing in their common plane against the base plate, the decorating stamp is applied to the successive articles so as to reproduce the colors.

The sectional, multiple color stamp may be fabricated to produce different numbers of colors, one stamp section for each color, and the stamp sections may be assembled in various Ways to make up a composite multiple color stamp.

The various features and advantages of the invention will be more fully apparent to those skilled in the art from the following description, taken in conjunction with the drawings.

In the drawings:

FIGURE 1 is a top plan view of a sectional decorating stamp made in accordance with the present invention.

FIGURE 2 is a side elevation as project from FIG- URE 1, further illustrating the sectional stamp.

FIGURE 3 is an end elevation of the stamp as projected from FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 4 is a sectional view of the stamp, taken along line 44 of FIGURE 2.

FIGURE 5 is a bottom view, as projected from FIG- URE 2, illustrating the printing face of the sectional stamp.

FIGURE 6 is a side elevation of the stamp similar to FIGURE 2, showing one of the stamp sections depressed below the plane of the other section of the stamp, with the foam rubber printing pad pressed against a color transfer pad to absorb one of the liquid food colors.

FIGURE 7 is a view similar to FIGURE 6, showing the second section of the stamp depressed below the plane of the first section and pressed against a second color transfer pad to receive the second liquid food color.

FIGURE 8 is a top plan view of a cookie, illustrating the two color design impressed upon the frosting of the cookie after both stamp sections have been colored and returned to their normal common plane as shown in FIG- URE 2.

FIGURE 9 is a view of a sectional stamp similar to FIGURE 5, showing the same design, the stamp being sectional, as illustrated in FIGURE but having modified mechanical construction.

FIGURE 10 is an end view as projected from FIG- URE 9.

FIGURE 11 is a separated view showing the two sections of the stamp illustrated in FIGURE 9.

FIGURE 12 is a face view of the printing surface of a one-piece decorating stamp, embodying the essential features of the invention.

FIGURE 13 is a side elevation, as projected from FIGURE 12, showing the rigid backing and the foam rubber printing pad of the one-piece stamp.

DECORATING STAMP GENERALLY As noted above, the invention is predicated upon the concept of providing a stamping device primarily for decorating cookies, cakes and other culinary products, utilizing liquid food colors of the type approved by health authorities and commercially available, usually comprising edible vegetable colors. The decorating stamp may also be used in decorating the walls of rooms, windows and the like, in which case, any conventional liquid pigment may be employed. The decorating stamp may be furnished either as a one-piece unit for printing a single color or it may be of composite form consisting of several sections arranged to transfer multiple colors, as explained later.

In order to disclose the principles of the invention, a one-piece decorating stamp is indicated generally at 1 in FIGURES 12 and 13, the stamp comprises a rigid backing which may be formed of wood, hard plastic or other suitable material, with a printing pad formed of relatively soft, resilient foam rubber. The foam rubber has a high degree of porosity, making the pad capable of absorbing relatively large quantities of the liquid food coloring in relation to its mass. By virtue of the softness of the foam rubber, the pad may be pressed lightly against the irregular surface of the relatively soft icing or frosting immediately after the icing has been applied to the cake or cookie, thereby to transfer the liquid coloring to the icing without depressing its soft surface. The printed impression takes the form of a stippled or grainy design, reproducing the texture of the foam rubber pad, and imparting a pleasing visual effect.

It will be understood at this point, that the principles outlined above are also embodied in the sectional decorating stamps, which may be arranged to print several disparate colors simultaneously. In the drawings selected to illustrate this principle, the decorating stamp indicated generally at 2 (FIGURES l1l) is of twopiece composite construction, arranged to impress two separate colors upon each cookie or cake upon each stamping operation, as explained in detail below. In either form of the invention, that is, the single color stamp or the multiple color stamp, the foam rubber printing pad, by way of example, may be in the neighborhood of three-eighths to one-half inch in thickness in the form of single or multiple layers. The thickness, combined with the porosity of the foam rubber printing pad, imparts sufficient absorption capacity, in the present example, to decorate fifteen to twenty cookies or cakes after a single application of the liquid food color to the pad. Moreover, the thickness of the pad causes it to conform to the irregular surface contour of the article.

The decorating stamp of the invention is intended primarily for hand use in bakeries, and also for home use, since it is simple in structure and operation and is relatively inexpensive. It is also contemplated to utilize the decorating stamp in conjunction with production operations in larger baking establishments, in which case the printing pad may be arranged to stamp the cookies in an automatic manner as they are advanced upon a conveyor after having been baked and iced.

STRUCTURAL DETAILS One-piece stamp The present example of the one-piece decorating stamp (FIGURES 12 and 13) represents a Christmas bell, the shape of the bell being delineated by the outline configuration 3 of the printing pad 4 and its backing piece 5. The printing pad 4 is attached to the backing piece by a suitable adhesive. The printing face 4 of the pad is represented by the stippled area, which absorbs the liquid color. The printing face of the bell further includes relief or cut-out areas 6, which complement or embellish the design.

The liquid vegetable color is applied to the foam rubber decorating stamp by a transfer pad or other means, as explained later. When applied to the cookie, the vegetable color, preferably green in the present example, is transferred to the iced surface of the cookie, the relief or non-printing areas 6 leaving the surface of the icing uncolored for background contrast.

Sectional stamp Described in detail, the composite decorating stamp 2 (FIGURES 1-7) comprises two separate stamp sections, indicated generally at 7 and 8, and normally residing in a common plane, as shown in FIGURE 2. As explained in detail later, the two stamp sections 7 and 8 are shiftable individually from the common plane downwardly to depressed positions in order to pick up the two different food colors from the color transfer pads, which are indicated generally at 9 and 10 in FIGURES 6 and 7.

In the present example of the two-piece decorating stamp selected to illustrate the invention, the stamp is intended to represent a Santa Claus for decorating cookies, cakes and the like during the Christmas season. The stamp section 7 reproduces the Santa Claus figure and the section 8 reproduces the conventional pack. The section 7 preferably impresses the Santa Claus design in red while the section 8 preferably impresses the pack design in black.

Described in detail with reference to FIGURES 1-4, the two-piece decorating stamp 2 comprises a base plate 12, in the present instance fabricated from a hard clear plastic material, such as Lucite. The base plate 12 preferably is cut to the outline configuration of the figure to be printed, as indicated in FIGURE 1. The base plate 12 provides a mounting structure fo the decorating stamp sections 7 and 8, adapting the two sections to be spring biased upwardly, with the stamp sections seated against the base plate to be normally maintained in their common printing plane as shown in FIGURE 4. The base plate also serves to keep the two relatively movable stamp sections 7 and 8 in accurate registry with one another during the printing operation.

Referring to FIGURE 4, each stamp section 7 and 8 comprises a backing member 13, which is fabricated from any suitable rigid material, in the present example, wood. Each backing member 13 is provided with a printing pad 14, formed of foam rubber, the printing pad being attached to the backing member by a suitable adhesive. The foam rubber printing pad, as noted earlier, preferably is in the neighborhood of three-eighths to one-half inch in thickness and provides sufficient porosity to decorate fifteen to twenty cakes or cookies after a single application of the liquid food color.

The stamp sections 7 and 8 are mounted with reference to the base plate 12 by respective pairs of screws 15-15.

Each screw includes a head 16 countersunk in its backing piece 13, as indicated at 17 (FIGURE 4). The shank of each screw, for a substantial distance above the head 16, is unthreaded and projects upwardly through the base plate 12, which is bored to receive the screws for sliding motion.

The upper end portions of each pair of screws for the respective stamp sections are confined in respective bridge pieces 18-18. The bridge pieces 18-18 are clampingly engaged by opposed pairs of nuts 20 which bear against the bridge pieces at opposite sides.

Each stamp section 7 and 8 is spring biased upwardly by respective pairs of coil springs 21-21, which are in compression between the base plate 12 and the nuts 20 of the bridge pieces 1'818. The lower end of each coil spring 21 is seated against a washer 22 resting upon the upper surface of base plate 12. The pairs of coil springs 21 normally urge the stamp sections 7 and 8 upwardly into engagement with the base plate 12 so as to maintain the printing faces of the stamp sections in a common plane for the printing operation. The bridge pieces 18, the pairs of screws 15, and coil springs 21 adapt each stamp section 7 or 8 to be shifted vertically as a self-contained unit, while maintaining the stamp sections in registry with one another.

As shown in FIGURE 5, which represents a bottom view of the printing face of the combined stamp sections 7 and 8, the two foam rubber printing pads 14 of the sections 7 and 8 interfit and register with one another to complete the design figure which has been selected to illustrate the invention. In order to differentiate the two sections 7 and 8, the section 7 is identified by the light stippling, as indicated at 23, and the section 8 is identified by the heavier stippling, indicated at 24. The printing face of each section 7 and 8 includes relief or cut-out areas 25, which embellish or complement the decorative design. The relief areas 25 preferably have a depth of less than the total thickness of the foam rubber pad, so as not to separate the pad into severed sections. The relief areas 25 are non-printing and form a part of the design in that they expose the background color of the cookie or other article which is decorated.

The color transfer pads 9 and 10, in the present example, each comprise a rigid backing plate 26 (FIGURES 6 and 7) having a color transfer pad 27 secured to the upper surface of the backing plate. The transfer pads 27 preferably are formed of foam rubber and are periodically saturated with the liquid food coloring for transfer to the sponge rubber printing pads 14 by capillarity. In the pressent example, the color transfer pad 9 is utilized to apply the black coloring to the stamp section 8 of the two-piece stamp, and the color transfer pad 10 is utilized to transfer the red coloring to the stamp section 7.

Operation of two-piece decorating stamp The operation of applying the two food colors to the stamp sections 7 and 8 is shown in FIGURES 6 and 7. In utilizing the hand-operated stamp illustrated, the two stamp sections 7 and 8 are depressed individually and brought into contact with the separate color transfer pads 9 and 10.

In preparing the composite two-piece decorating stamp for the printing operation, as illustrated in FIGURES 6 and 7, the stamp section 8 is first depressed with the fingers, as indicated by the arrows in FIGURE 7, while the stamp proper is grasped by the bridge piece 18 of the stamp section 7 which remains in its elevated position. The stamp section 8 is held in contact with the color transfer pad 9 for a short interval, sufficient to permit absorption of the black coloring and is then released, so as to assume its elevated position shown in FIGURE 7. Thereafter, the stamp section 7 is depressed, as indicated by the arrows in FIGURE 7, and is brought into color transfer contact with the transfer pad 10, which, in the present example, applies the red food color. After a short interval for absorption of the coloring, the stamp section 7 is released, so that both sections reside in the common plane as indicated in FIGURE 2.

After the liquid color has been absorbed from the transfer pads 9 and 10, the stamp is ready to be impressed upon the cookies 28 (FIGURES 2 and 8), which have been iced as at 29. In most instances, the icing essentially comprises a mixture of confectioners sugar, with flavoring and coloring added, if desired, and is mixed in a liquid to the proper consistency, and applied after the cookie is baked. In other instances, the icing may consist of meringue or other mixtures of the proper consistency, the color usually being white.

Upon being stamped, the decoration appears generally as shown in FIGURE 8, the red coloring being indicated by the light stippling 30, the dark or black coloring being indicated by the darker stippling 31, with the background color of the icing, as delineated by the relief areas 25, appearing as at 32. As noted earlier, the imprinted design is of an attractive grainy or stippled half-tone appearance by reason of the texture of the foam rubber stamping surface.

It will be understood from the foregoing that the sectional stamp may be made up of several additional sections, utilizing the principles of the invention, and that the stamp, whether of two-piece or of multiple construction, may be utilized to imprint a large variety of designs, the figure disclosed herein being selected only for purposes of illustration.

Modified two-piece decorating stamp The modified composite stamp illustrated in FIGURES 9, 10 and 11 is similar to the structure described above and, for purposes of illustration, is made up to impress the same design. According to the modified structure, the two-piece stamp is made up in two sections 34 and 35, which may be colored separately as described above and which are held in assembly by magnets. For convenience, the section 34 in FIGURE 11 is illustrated from the printing side while the reverse side of the stamp section 35 is shown.

Each section 34 and 35 comprises a rigid backing piece 36 and 37, and each backing piece includes one or more printing pads formed of foam rubber. Thus the backing piece 36 carries the printing pads 38, 39 and 40, while the backing piece 35 carries the printing pad 41. The backing piece 37 includes a slot 42 which mates with the printing pad portion 39, such that, when the two backing pieces 36 and 37 are placed in face-to-face engagement, the printing pad section 39 projects through the slot 42, as shown in FIGURE 9. In printing with the two sections 34 and 35, the sections are impressed individually against the color transfer pads, such as 9 and 10, previously noted, so as to saturate the pad sections 38, 39, 40 and 41 with the coloring liquid. The two stamp sections 34 and 35 are then placed in registry with one another (FIGURE 9).

Each printing pad 38, 39 and 40 includes a rigid base section 43 (FIGURE 10) configurated to the outline of the printing pad which it carries. When the two stamp sections 34 and 35 are placed in face-to-face engagement (FIGURES 9 and 10), the base section 43 of the printing pad 39 interfits the elongated slot 42 of the backing piece 37, so as to hold the two pieces in registry with one another.

As shown in FIGURE 11, the backing pieces 34 and 35, which are fabricated from a non-magnetic material, each include a flat rectangular magnet 4444 recessed into the backing pieces and secured therein by suitable means, with the surface of the magnets in flush relationship with the surface of the backing pieces. The two magnets comprise opposed pole pieces which register with one another and draw the two stamp sections into mating relationship with one another, as shown in FIGURES 9 and 10. The two-piece stamp is then ready to decorate a quantity of cookies or other articles, by virtue of the color absorbing capacity of the foam rubber printing pads.

It will be understood from the foregoing, that the sectional decorating stamp may utilize various other mechanical expedients to facilitate the operation of coloring the stamp sections individually for assembly in registry with one another for the stamping operation.

each of said relatively rigid backing members and the porous printing pad sections attached thereto being configurated to delineate in part the outline of the mutiple color decorative design which is to be impressed on the relatively soft irregular iced surface of the food product;

a base plate for said rigid backing members and the printing pad sections thereof;

slidable connecting means joining the relatively rigid backing members to the base plate;

spring biasing means associated with the said connecting means, said connecting means and the spring biasing means normally urging the stamp sections to a retracted position with the printing faces of the printing pad sections disposed in a common plane for impressing said disparate liquid colors upon the surface of the food product;

said printing pad sections being shiftable individually counter to said spring biasing means from said common plane for absorbing the disparate liquid colors;

said slidable connecting means shiftably confining the shifting pad sections in registry with one another when retracted by the spring biasing means to said retracted position with their printing faces in said common plane;

the porous printing pad sections having voids distributed uniformly throughout the mass of the printing pad sections;

said voids being exposed at the printing faces to provide a texture adapting the decorating stamp to impress the disparate liquid colors upon the food product in the form of a half-tone stippled effect;

the resilient foam material being sufficiently soft to impress the decorative design upon the relatively soft freshly iced surface of the food product without substantially indenting the freshly iced surface;

said porous printing pad sections having a thickness capable of absorbing sufficient disparate colors within said voids to impress the disparate color design at least five times upon the soft irregular surface of the iced food product after a single application of the disparate liquid colors to the printing pad sections.